An 'own goal' describes an act that unintentionally harms one’s own interests. It is certainly a term that springs to mind when considering the Kenyan Banking Amendment Bill, which imposes interest rate caps on the Kenyan banking sector.

Postbank (South Africa) has recently been granted a banking licence. Considering the persistent financial woes of the South African Post Office, which reported R1.49 billion in losses in the 2015 financial year, will Postbank’s new activities be a step towards recovery or exacerbate the losses? 

With the 2016 Ghanaian general election fast approaching, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) sought to limit the government’s borrowing with the BoG Amendment Bill. The bill, which was blocked in July, was an attempt to break Ghana’s past cycle of election induced spending, inflation surges and currency collapses.

The Economist’s blog recently ran an article on Nigeria’s Eurobond negotiations under the title ‘The end is naira’, highlighting the travails of the economy and the hapless mismanagement of the naira.

In the wake of collusion findings against a number of construction companies, momentum is now growing to bring damages claims against these firms.

Genesis highlights its partnership with Parker Fitzgerald this month by sharing an article on digital risk from their Quarterly Outlook.

Every bank and investor in financial services faces difficult choices when it comes to mobile financial services. 

2016 will prove to be a watershed for many of Africa’s banks as their growth disappears along with many of the normal sources of dollar earnings. 

The year 2016 promises to be a challenging time in South Africa and beyond. Yet we have elected to continue to grow Genesis this year by investing in strong professionals, technical leadership and new areas.